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The Kansas Council of Chapters held
its last quarterly meeting at the St. Andrews Golf Club, Overland
Park, Kansas, on Saturday, August 24, 2002. This was the first
time in as long as anyone can remember that all seven Kansas TROA
chapters were represented at a Council Meeting. |
The full attendance was due to the presence of LtCol
Brian Weisel of the Smoky Hill Chapter. As we all know, the Smoky Hill
Chapter is undergoing revitalization and we are encouraged by results to
date since we began our campaign to bring the chapter back to life! We
are thankful for the efforts of MG Jack Strukel for his taking the
initiative to gather interest in the Salina recovery. This resulted in a
meeting on July 14th in Salina that had a gathering of over
twenty prospective members. These folks were joined by representatives
from other chapters in Kansas. This meeting showed that there is
substantial interest in continuing the chapter, and it spawned another
meeting on August 11th at which time Colonel Weisel was chosen president
by members in attendance. We needed to have leaders step forward, and
this has been accomplished with Brian Weisel and U.S. Navy CAPT Skip
McAlexander. It will still take more time to get the chapter up to
speed, but with Brian and Skip, we feel we are off and running! |
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Other chapters’ reports gave a good feeling that we
are all doing things to be proud of, and that the chapters are in good
hands! Some of these events are supporting JROTC programs and
scholarships, supporting veterans stand downs, providing social
activities to our own people, and taking action to publicize community
accomplishments by our chapters. When the name change takes place to
Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), and we are assuming
this will happen, we anticipate that our market for members will take a
leap forward with the addition of active military and younger military
retirees more likely to join! Let’s face it; we need an even stronger
voice to support legislation effectively that benefits military
retirees. Without this strong voice, we cannot hope to achieve the
rewards that we have earned in our military careers. I guess we should
thank all members of all Kansas chapters for their support, dedication
and participation in the TROA movement which gives us the clout to be
heard.
COL Robert Hadley gave a report by the nominating
committee for Kansas Council Executive Board changes scheduled to take
place at the next council meeting in Wichita this coming November. MG
Jack Strukel, president-elect, has been nominated for council president,
Maj Harry Malnicof, vice-president, has been nominated for council
president-elect, Robert Hadley has been nominated for council vice
president, and COL William Wunder, council treasurer, has been nominated
to continue as council treasurer. All other positions will be appointed
by the council president. This looks like a very strong team! Of course,
other nominations will be acceptable from the floor at the November
council meeting.
Let us hear from you with any input you may have.
Regards,
Frank
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